During the past few decades, there has been an increasing interest in electronic devices, such as power supplies for various applications. The increasing demand for power supplies has resulted in the continuous development of battery packs, e.g., rechargeable battery packs.
A battery pack can consist of multiple battery cells coupled in series. When one of the battery cells is damaged, the lifetime of the battery pack will be shortened. An unbalance between any two of the battery cells can lead to a reduction in battery lifetime. FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a conventional lead-acid battery pack 100. The lead-acid battery pack 100 is generally employed in low cost applications due to its simple structure.
The lead-acid battery pack 100 can include multiple battery modules 101-104 coupled in series. Each of the battery modules 101-104 can consist of six battery cells 111-116 and two electrodes 120 and 129. Only a voltage of each battery module can be monitored via the two electrodes 120 and 129. Once any of the battery cells 101-106 is damaged, the entire battery pack 100 will be damaged. An unbalance between any two of the battery cells 101-106 can further shorten the lifetime of the lead-acid battery pack 100.